Improved trace-buckle



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

DAVID F. MAINE, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

IMPROVED TRACE-BUCKLE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,017, dated September19, 1865.

To all whom fit may concern Be it known that I, DAVID F. MAINE, ofMansfield, Ohio, have invented an Improved Trace-Buckle, of which thefollowing is a specification.

I constructaloop for the hame-tug with the arms bent. In the elbow isthe rollenpin upon which the buckle-frame plays. The haine-tug beingfastened to one bar ot' the loop, the other is flattened into a jaw withthe under surface roughened. Just beneath this jaw the frame of thebuckle is solid,\and so bent to meet the jaw that the two, closedtogether, form aperfect vise, which is closed by the natural set of theharness and gripes the trace firmly.

Upon the roller-pin to which the buckle-frame is attached is a tintedcam, held in its position by a spring. This cam plays upon the underside of the trace, and also binds it tightly, so that while either thevise or the cam alone might be deemed sufficient to hold the tracesecurely, the two combined in the same buckle will hold it so rmly thatit is impossible for it to slip by any accident. By the use of one orboth of these devices the buckle-tongue may be dispensed with. lIhegreater the tension upon the trace theflnore firmly is it held by thebuckle.

The advantages ot' this inode of fastening are- First, it obviates theannoyance and danger attending the use of the ordinary buckle by thetongue drawing' through.

Second, the trace is more readily and quickly adjusted to any desiredlength, while with the old buckle it can only be adjusted to fixeddistances.

Third, it is not weakened by the punching ot' holes for buckle-tongues,at which points traces have usually given out first.

I claiml. The use of a vise constructed substantially as described, andfor the purposes mentioned above.

2. The cam and spring, constructed and used substantially as abovedescribed.

DAVID F. MAINE.

In presence ot'- M. R. DoLL, H. NELSON.

